It's closer than you think
by Mizores
Summary: Set after KH2... After blaming himself for Kairi's death Sora finds that he can no longer speak and seams to be constantly tortured by flashbacks. Can Riku help Sora overcome this or will Sora succumb to the darkness that keeps pestering his heart?
1. Emotions

Hey guys! This is my first Fic so i hope you all like it : ). It's based after Kh2 and after the mysterious letter that turned out to be an assignment that King mickey sent the 3 friends. Im sorry if it is a bit confusing or if its really mundane but i don't think that im very good at writing stories so this is just for fun. Please review and correct me if there are any mistakes in it... there will be popcorn and toffee pennies for these people :D

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**Riku's POV**

"_Nothings changed huh?"_

"_Nope, nothing will." _

Riku remembered these words he had exchanged with Sora. He remembered the sound the waves made as they crashed against the shore, the way the wind caressed both him and Sora. Sora's perfectly spiked brown hair gently swaying and shining as the mellow setting sun blessed them with its presence. The sun slowly was burning Destiny Island in a soft placid yellow.

"_What a small world," _He remembered musing out loud. His eyes glazing over as he briefly glimpsed the horrors of what lurked in the darkness.

"_But part of one that's much bigger," Snapping out of his memories all Riku could do was reply to Sora with a simple:_

"_Yeah…" _

Riku wiped his eyes hoping to subdue the tears that were threatening to fall, only to find he was making things worse. He stared out of his bedroom window into the rain. Sora's face seamed to be silhouetted against it.

_Sora…_

_**Why did the king have to send for them! Why did Mickey call to them for aid!?**_Riku thought to himself furiously. _**Hadn't they done enough for the other worlds?!**_

His fist pounded against the glass on his window leaving a small crack in the double glazing. "Sora… I'm sorry…" Riku whispered as he finally succumbed to his tears.

**Sora's POV**

Sora was sat on the end of his bed staring into the floor in his room. The soft pitter-patter of the rain on the window was soothing his mind as he tried to block out everything around else him. He knew how empty he had become since King Mickey's last assignment…**Which he didn't need to remember! **He tried to remind himself, but failed as all his senses were ripped painfully into a flashback.

"_SORA!" Kairi shouted, her hand reaching out to try and grab something other than the darkness. She was being dragged into a whirling pool of darkness fashioned by thousands of heartless. Blood was gushing out from multiple gashes across her arms neck and face._

"_KAIRI!" Sora screamed. He tried running over to Kairi only to get speared on a Behemoth's horn. He shrieked in agony and clasped his hands around the base of the horn to try and push himself off only to slip further down. "KAIRI!" He continued to yell as he slipped further and further down on the horn that was drenched in his own blood…_

Sora was harshly thrown back into reality by a voice shouting his name.

"**Sora!"**

"Roxas?" Sora's lips mimed. He was hyperventilating and covered with a cold sweat.

"**Sora stop tormenting yourself!" **Roxas whispered. Sora knew he was the only one who could hear him as the voice came from inside his mind. Sometimes Sora wondered whether he imagined Roxas's voice. The only time he could feel the blond boy's presence was at times like this. Where Sora was in distress from these constant painful flashbacks. Then he would fade back into nothingness that had taken residence in Sora's mind since the last mission.

Sighing, Sora walked into his bathroom and looked in the mirror. Staring back at him from behind the glass was somebody who looked like his own reflection. However, instead of spiky chestnut brown hair the hair was blond and more controlled, choosing to just spike up instead of in all directions like Sora's mop. The boy reflected gave a sad smile and put his hand against the glass. Sora copied the movements and found his hand was pressed against the glass at the point where both hands met.

**"Sora, Kairi would want you to be happy. Don't do this to yourself**." The reflected boy cried. Tears were falling down his cheeks and when Sora moved his hand to touch the reflected boy's cheek he found that he was touching his own reflection. He was the one that was crying. Was that a hallucination? Sora questioned himself inwardly, knowing that his voice would never reach any ones ears ever again. He shook his head, trying to reach Roxas's presence in his mind only to find himself engrossed with terrifying images of Kairi's dying face…

*

Sora woke up the next morning on his bathroom floor. The sounds of pans clattering against each other were rising up to his ears from downstairs. Sora looked around him and noticed that there were small droplets of blood lingering on the tiles from the night before. He smiled darkly to himself as he realised how pathetic he was. He couldn't even bring himself to slit his wrists deep enough.

"Sora! Hurry up your late for school!" He heard his mum shout before sounds of pans clattering against each other proceeded noisily. He took his phone out of his pocket to look at the time: 8:38 blared out at him from the corner of the screen. He sighed and realised that he would have to clear up when he got home from school.

Sora grabbed his bag and ran down the stairs, not even bothering to change from the clothes he was wearing the day before. His mum tried to stop him when he got to the kitchen to try and force some breakfast down him but to no avail. Sora just continued to run out the house ignoring her.

Sora winced inwardly when he ignored his mum. He knew how much his existence hurt others but he couldn't stop it. Sora wished he had the guts to end it last night. He started thinking about whether he would be able to end it tonight when he ran into something. Sora fell onto ground and looked up to see what he bumped into. His eyes widened when he realised it was Riku. But why didn't he react? He thought to himself. Oh no! Sora started to panic when he realised that maybe Riku could be angry. His eyes started to well up and he curled his knees up to his chest and waited for Riku's anger to spill out.

**Riku's POV**

Riku nearly fell face first into the floor when something ran into him from behind. He waited a couple of seconds to hear an apology to see if he could recognise the person but none came. He turned around to yell at the person when he received a shocking image. Sora was sat on the ground in the fetal position with his eyes staring at his shoes as if he was waiting for the world to end. Riku's heart nearly split in two when he noticed tears dancing in the corners of Sora's eyes.

"Hey champ," Riku whispered tenderly, kneeling down to balance on the balls of his feet. He ruffled Sora's soft spikes and brought his chin up with his other hand so he could look into his eyes. "Are you ok?" He continued, looking straight into Sora's eyes as if to try and find signs of life.

Sora nodded slowly and shakily tried to stand up but his legs did not seam to want to support him. This didn't worry Riku as with one swift motion he scooped Sora off his feet and started to walk to school with Sora in his arms bridal style. This gained shocked expressions from their classmates and caused several groups of girls to laugh in a giddy and suggestive fashion. Riku could see why suggestive thoughts would come to mind. Sora was in is arms, his head leaning against his chest in silent submission while Riku could tell from the way his own face felt that he had a determined expression on his face. Riku secretly enjoyed the way the small boy felt in his arms. He even enjoyed the way Sora's hair would tickle the bottom of his chin every time he took another step.

"Hey! Riku!" A voice called out; distracting Riku from every detail he could take in of Sora in his arms. He half turned to see Selphie running up to them both. Riku blanched and tried to continue but was stopped by Selphie running in front of him. She looked very concerned as her eyes fell on Sora. "Is he ok?" She questioned worriedly. She reached out to touch Sora's arm when she saw him cringe and burry his face deeper into Riku's chest and his arms swung around to hold Riku in a deathly tight hug. Riku gasped and started to run to the school before anything else could happen.  
"Sorry Selphie I got to go take him to the nurse's office!" Riku said apologetically after glimpsing the hurt look on her face.

**Sora's POV**

Sora didn't want to let go of Riku when his friend lowered him onto the bed. So instead of his clingy hug he grabbed a handful of Riku's school blazer and held on as tightly as he could.

_I'm sorry Riku_… he thought to himself as he rested his head onto the pillow, still holding onto Riku for dear life_. I'm always trouble for you and every one else._

"Hey Sora..." Riku started as he apprehensively perched himself on the side of the bed. "You are ok now aren't you? I hope I didn't hurt you earlier, it was my fault that you got hurt…" _What was Riku saying? It was my fault. Damnit! I'm so much of a trouble that he has to lie to me! _

Sora fidgeted on the bed and Riku could tell that he didn't agree with what he was saying. Sora looked up a Riku with sad eyes. _Don't blame yourself it was my fault! Don't be all noble on me!_ He wished that he could speak but when he tried to open his mouth to say the words it felt like his lips were glued shut. Instead he bowed his head in shame and turned away from Riku. Finally releasing him and letting him go. _If only I could do the same with this feeling in my heart… _He let his arm drop to his side and he felt his school blazer fall up is arm a little before he moved it down hastily. I hope he didn't see that… Sora thought worriedly. He slowly turned back to face Riku and flinched from the look on his face. Riku's eye brows were knitted together and his eyes were cold as ice as he looked at Sora's now covered up wrist. His breathing was ragged and he looked like he was going to explode- which he did.

"WHAT THE FUCK SORA?!" Riku cursed, yanking Sora's arm and forcefully moved the blazer sleeve up. "WHAT THE FUCK!" He repeated with just as much venom in his voice. Sora winced and said nothing, looking up to Riku with pleading eyes. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF!" Riku continued, thrashing Sora's arm about wildly causing Sora's body to twist and jerk about. Sora did not resist. He continued to allow Riku to let out his anger. When Riku stopped Sora looked up curiously. His heart dropped when he saw the sad expression that had replaced the angry one on Riku's face.

"What happened," Riku whispered, "What happened to you got to try and think positive?"

_Riku…i…I'm sorry …_ Sora tried to speak but his voice wouldn't come out. Instead he sighed and buried his face into the pillow and completely ignored Riku. After a few minutes he heard the door close and he knew that Riku had left him alone. He felt a curious pang in his heart when he realised this. Sora wanted nothing more than to shout for Riku, talk to him, to act like they used to before. As much as Sora hated to admit to himself, he didn't want his voice to fail to reach Riku. Just as it had failed to reach Kairi…


	2. Nightmares and budding feelings

**Riku's POV**

I can't believe I left him there. Even after seeing what he has done. I feel so worthless, I'm such a useless

Riku sat at his desk staring out the window again. A permanent frown etched on his flawless face and his hands curled up into tight fists. He couldn't concentrate on whatever lesson he was in, all his thoughts strayed to Sora who was in the nurse's office.

"Fuck!" He growled, his fists hitting down on the table with a bang. He momentarily forgot where he was and was shocked when he was brought back to the lesson with a sharp sound of someone clearing their throat. He looked around to find that the class were staring at him and that the teacher looked thoroughly disgruntled. He cursed inwardly and apologised, the teacher commenced with the lesson and the rest of the class slowly started to look away.

"Pssst!" Riku heard from behind him. He turned to find a piece of paper shoved in his face. He took the paper and smoothed it out over his desk so he could read it. He found that it was Selphie's unmistakable neat handwriting.

_What happened with Sora this morning? _

Riku shook his head and replied in his loopy scribble with:

_He ran into me and had a pretty bad fall..._

Riku folded the piece of paper than passed it back along behind him to the avidly waiting Selphie. Who he saw open the paper and frown at it. She wrote something else down and hurriedly past it back along the person in front of her. Who, by student unofficial protocol had to keep passing the note between them both.

_Not that! Why didn't he speak to me? He seamed scared...._

Riku wondered what to put. Selphie knew just like everyone else in the class that Kairi had passed away. However they didn't know the truth. They were all told that it was a hit and run that caused her death.

_He's still shaken from the news of Kairi… You know how close they were and he doesn't know how to cope I guess?..._

Riku was starting to get annoyed at the fact that the note had come back to him again. He really did NOT want to continue talking with Selphie about Sora.

_But it's been 4 weeks already! I know it's sad but he can't continue to avoid everyone you know?..._

Fed up Riku just replied with a sad face and ignored Selphie for the rest of the lesson. He knew better than anyone that Sora shouldn't continue to avoid everyone and he knew that Sora was blaming himself but he didn't know how to help him. It was heartbreaking to see Sora so broken and he really didn't want to loose him again.

Riku let his mind wander aimlessly for the rest of the lesson and as soon as the bell went he ran out of the class and went straight for the nurse's office. When he got there and looked around he was shocked to find Sora wasn't there.

"Damn!" Riku cursed, running out the room. He nearly ran over a bemused looking nurse in the process. "Sorry!" He shouted as he continued to run in the general direction of the exit to find Sora.

**Sora's POV**

Sora lay on the sand and looked up at the sky. It was midday and the sun was at its highest peek. He closed his eyes as the glare of the sun became too much for them. The waves became his main focus and soon he found that the rhythmic crashing sound was soothing him into a deep sleep. A sleep he wished he never yielded to.

_He was screaming Kairi's name again. Nothing. There was no answer. Her body was limp and the struggle against the dark portal was gone. She was slowly disappearing; the only visible part of her now was from her shoulders up. "Kairi!" Sora yelled, giving a final push and freeing himself from the Behemoth's horn. _

_ Without even a thought of healing himself, Sora started to run to Kairi, desperation showing on his face. He held out his hand as he slowly got closer to her. He was about to reach down and help when he heard a bloodcurdling shout. Sora whipped around to see Riku pinned to the ground by the behemoth Sora had left unattended. "RIKU!" Sora screeched, instantly whipping around, running to his aid and smiting down stray heartless as he ran. Invoking the magic for "stop" Sora managed to subdue the Behemoths attack for several seconds while he ran towards them. When he reached them he jumped up and hacked off the behemoths horn with his keyblade and then spun around in the air to land with his feet planted at either side of Riku. _

"_LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Sora spat with pure rage: driving his keyblade full force into the behemoth's chest and jerking it mercilessly to the side. With a roar of agony the behemoth's chest caved in splattering Sora and Riku in a bloody mess as the heartless heart propelled out and vanished into the sky. Sora hyperventilated and looked around dazed before realising that Kairi had almost disappeared into the dark portal. _

"_KAIRI!" Sora ran shakily in her direction again only to collapse onto the ground in bitter defeat. He lifted his head and moved his hands to pull himself closer, desperately trying to drag himself and reach her before its too late, a trail of blood following behind him. _

"_Sora! Stay still while I heal you!" Riku cried, trying to turn Sora onto his back to heal his wound but Sora refused and continued to drag himself in Kairi's direction. "Riku… Help…h.." he breathed, barely making any audible sound at all. His vision was blurring and darkness was creeping into the sides of his mind but it did not matter, he continued to blindly crawl towards the place where Kairi had been…_

**Riku's POV**

Riku kept running, determined to find Sora. "Where are you?" He shouted out, looking towards the heavens as if willing them to enlighten him. His ears picked up the sound of waves and he looked to his left. The beach was empty apart from one lone person who was lying on the sand. Could it be Sora? Riku asked himself, his heart skipping a beat when he realised it was.

He ran faster than his legs had ever done before and collapsed in a messy heap beside Sora. He was about to yell and say how worried he was when he realised Sora was asleep! "Sora?" Riku whispered quietly, not sure whether he wanted to wake the adorable sleeping boy._ Wait…adorable? What was Riku thinking? Sora was his friend and he really needed him right now! Some friend, _he thought while he smirked at his own disgrace.

_Still…_ he contemplated while he steadily lowered himself into a laying position facing Sora, his hand resting just millimetres away from Sora's. Riku gulped and studied the younger boys face. There were red marks around his eyes and cheeks that gave the tell tale signs that he had been crying. Riku's heart gave an unwelcome pang. His eyes slowly gazed over at Sora's wrist where old marks and new flesh wounds could be seen. Pang two. Then Riku's breathing almost instantly stopped when he saw Sora's lips mime two words.

_Riku… Help. _

That was the last draw for Riku, his heart panged a third time and he found himself clasping Sora's hand and kissing his forehead gently.


	3. Always there

WOW... a really short chapter here, even by the standards I've been showing so far! Basically i couldn't get this scene to move very fast or progress any further so i had to just have this little chapter here to show things are still angsty and a reason to get Sora to run away in an already too-depressed-for-words mood. Hope you enjoy and please correct me if there are any foolish and noobish mistakes here :)

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**Sora's POV**

Sora opened his eyes slowly and automatically went to wipe tears from his face to find that something was caught on his hand. He moved his head to the side so he could see what it was and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw what was there.

_Riku? _

Sora's eyes widened with shock and he didn't know what to do. The sleeping boy beside him had hold of his right hand in both of his own, making it difficult to break free.

_Riku! What are you doing? _Sora wondered, slowly sitting up to get a better look at his sleeping friend. He tried to think of a reason why Riku would go as far as to ditch school just to lay next to him but couldn't think of any logical solution.

Sora heard a faint echo of Roxas somewhere in his mind whispering to him.

"**Sora, stop being so dumb!" **

Sora ignored the voice, thinking to himself that it was just another hallucination. He pulled his hand away slowly and fidgeted around so he was laid on his stomach with his chin resting on his hands staring at Riku.

"Soraaa…" Riku moaned, moving his hand slightly as if from lack of contact. Sora held his breath thinking that he may ruin the moment by breathing to loudly. Not knowing what to think or believe Sora blushed and checked to see if anyone else was around.

_Is Riku… dreaming of me? _Sora blushed and slowly reached out to move a stray piece of hair from Riku's eyes.

**Riku's POV**

Riku could see Sora through his eyelashes. He wasn't really asleep he just wanted to see want Sora's reaction would be. The effect he got nearly made him want to hold Sora and not let go. The younger boys blushing face was absolutely priceless.

Riku felt his self control slipping when he saw the younger boy reaching forward. The adorable blush still etched onto his face. To stop temptation Riku closed his eyes fully and wondered what Sora planned on doing. He felt Sora move his hair away from his face and then gently caress his cheek. Riku made a soft growling noise at the back of his throat and grabbed Sora's arm. He pulled Sora into a tight embrace and lay there on the sand with the younger boy's back against his stomach, arms securely around his waist to stop him escaping.

"I don't know what you're thinking Sora," Riku breathed. His voice had a venomous edge to it while his lips grazed Sora's ear. "But you're not running away from me this time!"

Riku paused for a moment and realised that the younger boy was shaking. He signed and continued but his voice had lost all edge and was replaced with a composed lull. "No body blames you. So please, stop hurting yourself…"

Riku felt Sora stop shaking and turned him around to face him, but the younger boy's marvellous celestial blue eyes refused to meet with Riku's sea foam green ones.

**Sora's POV **

Sora couldn't bring himself to look into Riku's eyes. So instead he directed his gaze to Riku's chest and knew that there was a deep scar there from when he was knocked over by the Behemoth.

_Because of me… _

Sora tried to turn away from Riku but the older boy held fast. He wasn't kidding about that running away remark. Sora let his body go limp and waited for Riku to say something. He desperately wanted to yell at Riku, to tell him to leave him alone before he hurts Riku like he hurt Kairi. He wanted to shake Riku and tell him that his only release was pain so he should stay out of it! More than anything else, Sora wanted to tell Riku how afraid he was of loosing him, or rather, himself to the darkness.

"You know Sora," Riku whispered, his arms loosening slightly giving Sora the option of leaving. "I've always been here, looked out for you. I always will. So please, talk to me when you're ready." Riku's hot breathe on Sora's neck made Sora feel self conscious.

_Riku, stop._ He though anxiously, while he subconsciously was moving away from the older boy. His eyes widened with shock when he realised that the arms that were constricting his movements were gone. Sora looked up at Riku for the first time and saw the loneliness in his astonishing green eyes.

_Riku, I'm sorry… if only Kairi was here, she would be able to get rid of your loneliness. _With that last thought Sora scrambled to his feet and ran off, a trail of tears dashing down his cheeks and blowing off his face.

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I promise its going to get better folks...A little inside into the next chapter:

Remember the blood Sora left on his bathroom floor that morning? If you think that's going to get unnoticed then your surely mistaken... Review and receive more fluffy and angsty goodness :)


	4. reality?

OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE? :'( Riku nooooo!

This chapter is even shorter than my last chapter but when you read it you will see why. I couldn't bring myself to write any more for this chapter and i am now sat here desperately trying to think of a plausible way to change the direction this is going D:

Here it is... enjoy and i hope you don't chase me with pick axes and demand my head be decapitated and put on a stake :S ....

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Sora's POV

Sora had to stop to catch his breath. He had unknowingly run for fifteen minutes straight right to his front door. His face was a light shade of red after remembering what Riku had said to him. Sora clutched at his chest and felt his heartbeat pound. He sighed and looked behind him at the sea in the distance, from where Sora was he couldn't see Riku or the beach and he wondered whether he was still there.

_Riku…_

Sora pulled himself away from any thoughts that would have formed and opened the door hearing the less than welcoming squeak of the hinges as he walked in.

SLAP!

Sora was knocked back into the door handle as he clutched his slowly swelling cheek, his eardrums bursting with abrupt yells and screeches. He chaotically tried to decode the screeches but his mind seamed to have fizzled out after the slap.

"FUCKING LISTEN TO ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU SORA! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" The towering mother above him was shrieking, pushing his shoulders hard against the cold wooden door. "YOU COME BACK AFTER A YEAR AND THEN FUCKING DO THAT TO YOURSELF AFTER EVERYTHING IVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Sora was sweating. Cold trickles of the stuff sliding down his face and dripping into his dilating eyes. His breathing rapidly quickening as every other gasp for air became harder than the last. The room was spinning and he could no longer distinguish what his mother was trying to say. Her tone had changed and was somewhat pleading. Sora had no idea why. He figured it was because she too was being immersed in darkness. Malicious yellow glares appearing everywhere as Sora turned is head from left to right. Sora knew that bodies of shapeless monsters were camouflaged against the black blanket that was as pressing and menacing as the glares.

_NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!_

Sora felt himself inhale the darkness as he opened his mouth to scream, chocking him and cushioning his every beg for help in his throat.

"S-s-Sora!?" His mothers voice arose from a distance. Sora panicked. He didn't want them to get to his mother. _No! MUM RUN! _He desperately thought, breaking free from the dark bonds that held him and running in a random direction. He could feel the creatures grab at him but he squirmed away from them and continued to run. His vision obscured by nothing other than a sheet of darkness that he couldn't even see his hand through. All around him he could see the beasts of evil; he could feel their breath on his neck, face, and chest. Creating extra forces on his small body and breaking him down. His eyes searched frantically around for any means of escape but all they met were yellow.

"Sooooora!" He heard them whisper, mocking and drawing a subdued gasp from him.

_NO! FUCK OFF! LEAVE ME ALONE! _Sora's eyes squinted out angry tears as his arm was pulled by one of the heartless. He whipped around and shoved at it finding that it had little effect.

"Sora," the heartless sneered, pulling his arm closer into it. Sora felt like his arm was burning with how tight the heartless had hold of him. He struggled some more, pushing and clawing at the beast. Each time his attempts failed and each time his breathing became a little more ragged. _THAT'S IT! _Sora's mind was completely lost in rage as with his last glimmer of hope he summoned up his keyblade.

"SORA!" The heartless shouted, one of its arms swinging around to slap Sora on the side of his face. Sora made an angry hissing noise before throwing his keyblade up and yelling in his mind: _FIRE!_ An vivid fiery ring surrounded him catching the arm of the heartless making it gasp and jump back. "SORA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" It shouted, trying to grab Sora again.

_No chance_. Sora thought viciously as he jumped into the air to bring his keyblade down onto the heartless's grotesque head. He released his own gasp when he saw the monster summon a keyblade just in time to block the attack. _No way!_ Sora landed haphazardly and prepared himself for the heartless rebuttal but was not fazed when it didn't come. He lashed out again, bringing his keyblade up from the floor. There were sounds of keyblades clashing as Sora continued his onslaught, dancing around the heartless and ferociously pin pointing any weak spots. He was completely ignoring the fact that the heartless only defended.

Sora summoned thunder and then immediately after rushed in to claim the now open torso of the heartless as his own. He plunged the end of the keyblade into the tall heartless's chest and quickly retracted it before rolling himself back to safety. A beam of light produced from the wound and slowly spread in a ring around the heartless and the surrounding area. Sora dropped the keyblade in despair where it fizzled out of existence before even hitting the floor. There, doubled up on the floor was his best friend.

_Riku…_

Sora rushed forward and collapsed next to the older boy. _Riku im sorry! _He tried to plead but his voice was lost to sobs. "Soraaa.." Riku whispered, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder and using it to force himself into an upright position. The avid green eyes of his friend met his and there were tears of sadness in them. "I'm sorry Sora. I couldn't reach you.." Riku breathed, tears streaming down his cheeks in his own defeat. His eyes were fluttering, threatening to close for good. _Riku no!_ Sora's sobs remained stealing his pleas as the younger boy pulled Riku into a hug. He heard Riku sigh happily and chuckle softly. "This feels nice…Sora I l-." Sora heard Riku's breath catch in his throat and subdue the rest of Riku's sentence. Silence enclosed the both of them like a vacuum sucking out the sound and …Riku's life

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DUN DUN DUN! ... I seriously hate myself now. My brain was yelling in protest at my hands but this couldn't be stopped! Review and enjoy for more. And if you have any ideas how i can save Riku without it being too far fetched then ideas and VERY VERY VERY welcome :'( i have one idea but i don't want to use it so if anyone can help it would be much appreciated :)


	5. Goodbye Sora,

I'm sorry about the last chapter... i really didn't want to kill Riku D: but my original thought was that mickey mouse was going to some how make an entrance and save the day but that idea paled in comparison to this... Enjoy :)

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**Sora's POV**

_Riku. RIKU!_ Sora's mind seamed to fizzle out as logical thinking started to shut down. _Cure!_ He desperately tried only to find he could not physically summon any magic.

_Damn! I must have used all my MP earlier. _Sora dug his face into Riku's shoulder and stifled his sobs on the silver haired boy's school shirt. _Help me Roxas! _Sora pleaded, headaches erupting and pulsating in Sora's mind. He squeezed his eyes shut as the ache grew too much. His insides seamed to squirm and his lungs collapsed. Sora started to scream in pain when the top of his head glowed in red hot agony, the brown hair receding into his head and blonde colouring seeping up the roots.

**Roxas's POV**

"Riku! Listen to me!" The newly blonde Sora yelled. "I'm going to leave Sora and merge with you! It's the only way to save you!" Roxas laid Riku on his back and checked to see if there was still a pulse. He hissed in impatience and then felt the smallest of twitches in Riku's wrist. It was faint and Roxas knew Riku only had seconds left. He had gone way over the edge for simple healing magic to solve. Roxas gritted his teeth and placed his hand over Riku's wound, letting his fingers smear the blood in small circles as he estimated the area of Riku's heart. "This is going to hurt…" Roxas yelled before sending thunderous shock waves into his and Riku's body. No reaction. "Tch! Again!" Roxas cried as he willed his aura into Riku's body along with the shock waves this time. Riku's eyes fluttered open and revealed the whites of them. "Just a little more!" Roxas growled through his teeth. The pain became blinding, sending Riku's pale body jerking up and shuddering down while Roxas had lost all sense of sight and sound. He knew he had to carry on for Sora's sake and that was the only spark that continued to drive him on. "ONE MORE TIME!" Roxas could feel his throat ripping out with the amount of excruciating sound producing from his mouth but he could not hear it.

Silence…

**Riku's POV**

Riku's eyes rolled out of his sockets slowly and painfully to glimpse at the blond haired boy above him. "Roxas?" He whispered confusedly, reaching up to touch the boys face. His fingers grasped air and he quickly withdraw his arm back.

"Goodbye Sora," Roxas breathed causing Riku more reason to be confused. The blond boy above him smirked humourlessly and bent over Riku, his face millimetres away. "NO!" Riku yelled closing his eyes and automatically moving his hands to force him off but they didn't meet anything. He opened his eyes again to find a dazzlingly clear night sky above him. _What just happened? _He thought to himself as he turned his head to the side of him.

There lying on the floor face down was Sora. "SORA!" Riku shouted, instantly pulling the smaller boy up and shaking him. A celestial speck of blue peeped out from under an eyelid before a stupidly joyous grin spread across the brunettes face. Two arms flew around Riku's neck and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Riku laughed at his friend and returned the favour, choosing to wrap his arms around the brunette's waist. _This feels better than earlier. _Riku thought smiling to himself before the smile slid of his face. "Sora, you didn't hear all of what I said earlier did you?" Riku asked swallowing hard. His throat had suddenly gone dry and his hands became all clammy. He relaxed when he felt Sora's head shake against his neck, his cheeks leaving wet patches on Riku's skin. "Don't cry Sora." Riku whispered. He pushed the younger boy away from him and grinned. "Smile like you did a few minutes ago." He finished slyly, his stomach doing back flips when Sora obeyed. Riku had no other option but to grin back in an equally stupid fashion as the smaller boy's happiness was contagious.

"SORA GET BACK HERE!" Came a shriek from behind the two boys, who both simultaneously jumped out their skins before chaotically falling back into them. Riku gracefully got to his feet and turned to the woman who was bee lining in their direction. "RUNNING OFF AND THEN STAYING OUT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!" Riku flinched at Sora's mothers' harsh tone of voice and felt his shirt tighten at the back as Sora clung on to him with a terrified look on his face.

"Umm… I think you are going overboard." Riku stated, moving slightly to shield Sora some more. This made Sora's mother stop in her tracks, her eyes narrowing to furious slits. She scoffed and walked slowly to match up to Riku.

"Do you realise how much of a suicidal little wretch he is?!" She murmured, holding a steady gaze with Riku.

"He is NOT suicidal! And you reek of alcohol." Riku growled. He bared his teeth and his hands shrunk into trembling fists. This made the woman laugh harshly and continue in her spiteful tone:

"Where have you both been for the past year? You can't expect me to stand and watch idly while you steal my only son away from me!" Riku felt Sora's hand shaking and stepped back into him so that the smaller boy was closer.

"I am NOT leaving him with an alcoholic bitch like you." Riku finally stated. The air tensed as an awkward silence pressed down upon the three. The only sound was the angry heavy breathing escaping the woman's flaring nostrils.

"WHY YOU LITTLE SHIT!" She shrieked. Her fist rose up and she brought it down to Riku's face. She gasped and recoiled quickly when she connected and felt a bloodcurdling crunch. "T-t-t-w-s-s-o-d-d-o-n-t-t." Her anger completely flushed out her face as she looked at Riku now a stuttering mess.

Riku started to laugh darkly. His eyes shining with a strange glint as his now broken nose dripped a steady flow of blood. "I suggest you go home." He said in a monotone, a disturbing smile on his face that only slightly resembled the characteristically cocky one he normally wore. Sora's mother didn't need to be told twice. With a final sad look at her son she scampered off, resolve and self pride dropping like the metaphoric tail between her legs.

Riku watched her go with scorn before he turned to Sora. As soon as his eyes met the flitting blue ones he let out a gentle smile. "Lets go." He said determinedly, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him to his house.

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Well what can i say? I thrive on angst and prince's who save the day :) Riku is Sora's prince :D and the next chapter is going to involve pictures of Riku as a baby. All together now ... awwwwwww. Please review and i hope you continue to enjoy my story.


	6. I want to protect you now

**Riku's POV**

Sora followed Riku happily as they entered the older boys' bedroom, which was as typically spotless as ever. He didn't even notice that they were still holding hands until Riku tried let go of his to go into the bathroom. Sora just automatically added more pressure to the grip when he felt Riku's half loosen. "Sora, you kind of have to let go so I can go and sort my nose." Riku chuckled, casually looking down at the younger boy. Sora's eyes widened and they flicked from Riku to their hands that were clasped, back to Riku again. This made the older boy blush briefly and continue with:

"Or you know, you can help me, which ever flies your gummy ship."

Sora flashed Riku a dazzling smile and pulled a shocked Riku into the bathroom. Sora then grabbed a piece of cloth, dampened it with lukewarm water and then delicately washed Riku's slowly blushing face. "I think its clean Sora." Riku gulped, moving the younger boy's hands away from his face. Not fazed Sora pushed and pulled Riku so that the older boy was sat on the side of the bath tub and then proceeded to look around the cupboards for a potion. _He looks so cute rushing around like that. Kind of like a nurse… _Riku thought to himself, before catching the thought and banishing it from his mind. He dared to look up at Sora again and had to hold his nose to stop the fresh blood that was threatening to drip out of it. Sora was leaning on the sink with one hand and trying to reach something on the top cupboard shelf, his hips against the sink forcing him to bend over ever so slightly over it. Riku's eyes followed the arch of the younger boys back all the way down to his toned bum and then followed the arch of his chest back up to Sora's face. He had a look of determination on it and-_ gulp_ – he licked his lips slowly and then left his tongue to settle at the corner of his mouth just poking out invitingly. _Damnit Sora! _Riku cursed inwardly as he realised how much the boy was naturally teasing him.

Riku swiftly moved from the baths side to behind the smaller boy. His hands hovered near Sora's hips before he growled and placed one hand on the sink beside Sora's hand and reached up with the other one. Riku easily reached the green bottle that resided at the back of the top shelf and slowly pulled it out. He was savouring the way Sora felt against him: his back against his chest, his hair under his chin, his backside against his hips…

Riku gasped and quickly retreated to the side of the bath again. Sora followed with the same cute, happy smile on his face. "You're still so short Sora." Riku noted, his head bowed so he could gain control of his burning face as he opened the potion bottle. He stiffened when he saw two gentle hands grasp the potion and pry it away from him. Riku looked up and saw Sora pour some of the liquid onto the palm of his hand and then rub his hands together to get an even spread of it on his fingers. "Sora what are you doing? I can do it mys…" Riku's slightly annoyed tone was cut off as he felt Sora's hands gently glaze over his nose. A soft, warming sensation arising from the places he touched. Sora started on the top of his nose and smoothed his thumbs down the sides, his knuckles resting lightly on the sides of Riku's cheeks. Once Sora had deemed the potion to have taken effect he gave another dazzling smile before breaking out into a small yawn that he was quick to hide behind his hand.

"I think that's enough excitement for one night," Riku said, his voice a little higher than usual from embarrassment. Sora nodded and returned to pulling Riku back into the bedroom. _He likes to pull me around doesn't he?_ Riku noted, an amused smile playing on his lips, which grew to an even more amused cocky smile when he saw Sora abruptly stop before the bed and stand awkwardly for several moments before turning to the older boy questioningly.

"What's up?" Riku asked, his famous cocked eyebrow look coming into play. Sora looked to the bed and then back to Riku shyly. Sora's hands were twirling a button on his own school shirt. It dawned on Riku what the younger boy was trying to say. "Ummm," Riku's hand went to scratch the back of his head awkwardly. "I don't have any pj's I just sleep in my boxers…" Riku had trailed off. His attention now completely on the younger boy who was unbuttoning his school shirt.

Sora pulled his t-shirt off followed closely by his trousers and looked around with his lips pursed in thought. He finally decided to fold them and place them neatly on the bedside table before bouncing onto the bed and pulling the covers over his tanned, subtly muscled body. Sora left the covers open and looked at Riku with a shy, wide eyed expression on his face.

_He's going to be the death of me. _Riku cried inwardly, trying to take control of his already moving hands that were stripping him of their own accord. Sora just looked at him with a bemused expression on his face when Riku lowered himself onto the very edge of the bed. "N-night Sora," Riku whispered, staring blankly at the ceiling trying to wipe his mind of unbidden thoughts that were worming their way into his mind. _He is in your bed, you could take him… _Riku turned his head slightly and looked at Sora. He smiled gently when he saw that Sora already had his eyes closed and his breathing was starting to get deep and slow. _Does he feel at ease around me?_ Riku smiled and closed his eyes. _I guess the feelings mutual. _

_Sora was sat at the side of Riku's bed, slowly leaning over Riku to touch their foreheads together. This stole a gasp from the older boy who quickly turned his head away to stare at the wall. "What's wrong Riku?" Sora asked innocently, his hand turning Riku's face back. A gentle smile encased on the younger boys face. "You don't feel like you have a fever. I'll get a remedy potion just in case." Sora tottered off to the bathroom with Riku's eyes following him every step of the way. _

_ Riku looked at Sora and felt the blood rush to his head. Sora was wrapped up in a plethora of red and white lace. His small body sported a tight white one piece with a skirt that flourished out in a bouncing cornucopia of frills, revealing the trimmings of red bloomer shorts peeking out insisting on being ripped off. A little white headdress with a red plus sign on the front was framed by the younger boy's soft brown spikes that bounced as he walked back with a vial in his hands. "Found one," The younger boy exclaimed in joy as he perched himself back on the bed. _

_ "Sora, why are you dressed like that?" Riku asked, he gasped when Sora lent in and was inches away from his face. There was a playful expression in the younger boys eyes. "Don't you like it?" Sora pouted, moving his leg over Riku so that he was straddling the older boy. Riku moved his hands to Sora's thighs only to have the brunette move them back to the bed. _

_ "Oh no, not in your condition." Sora winked. "I think you need a massage..." Riku winced as he felt Sora's hands caress his sides, working down to his hips and circling the bulge in his boxers with his thumbs. _

_ "Nng!" Riku gasped, thrusting up uncontrollably…_

Riku's eyes snapped open. His heart pounding against his chest when he looked down and saw that Sora's hand had some how made its way to rest on his boxers. "Soraaa!" He whispered urgently, moving the hand and turning to look at Sora. Riku sighed wearily when he saw that the boy was still fast asleep. _I so can't sleep here without loosing my control. _Riku sighed to himself, before slowly edging out of bed and walking out the room.

**Sora's POV**

Sora shot up from the covers. His face could have been used as a beacon from how red it glowed at that moment in time. _What the hell was I doing in that dream? _He yelled inwardly, running a cool hand over his warm face. He looked to his side to check on Riku and panicked when he saw the spot was empty. _Where is he?_ Sora wondered, getting up and walking to the door.

He made a double take when he remembered he was in his boxers and wondered whether he should put his uniform back on. Sora sighed and decided on getting a baggy t-shirt from Riku's wardrobe. He chose a simple white one that was way to big for him. _This will do, I hope Riku doesn't mind. _Sora started to panic but then remembered how great the older boy was. He smiled to himself when he thought back to how Riku protected him on countless times. _I want to protect you now._

Sora stopped on the stairs and giggled softly to himself when he noticed one of his favourite pictures of Riku on the wall. There in a silver photo frame was a mini Riku with a paopu shaped plush, an utterly adorable shocked expression on his face that was made only the more hilarious by the tuft of silver hair standing up in an Elvis like curl. _Riku looks so cute. _Sora giggled to himself and continued down the stairs, bounding down the last few when he spotted Riku on the sofa.

The older boy looked peaceful stretched out across the sofa with a thin blanket clumsily drawn across him. Sora sighed and curled up on the sofa next to Riku, snuggling up so that he was hugging one of Riku's arms and his nose rested in the tender crook of the older boys chest. _Riku smells really nice…_ Sora commented before quickly zoning out into a peaceful sleep.

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OH MY GOD! Sora in a nurse outfit O: ... Sexy much? What will Riku do when he wakes up to find Sora snuggled up next to him again? Review and enjoy :)


	7. the power of darkness

**Riku's POV**

_"You've been a bad boy Riku!" Sora leered seductively, slowly moving a set of handcuffs off his PVC police outfit and dangling them onto Riku's boxers. They clanked metallically and sent silent shivers down the older boys back. _

_"Sora st-stop it!" Riku stuttered in response. He tried moving the younger boy off his legs to find that his efforts made Sora jolt for his hands. In one fluid movement the younger boy snapped the handcuffs onto one of Riku's wrists and then quickly ensnared the other. "Ah! Get these off!" Riku yelped. Sora chuckled huskily and grazed his tongue on Riku's neck. Riku gasped and pulled at his handcuffs trying to free himself. The younger boy pulled Riku's hands so that they were over his head and hanging off the side of the sofa before plunging down onto an unsuspecting nipple. "Ug! Sora…" Riku moaned. He felt shivers going up his back again as the younger boy sucked and teased the erect nubs. _

_ "You're so sensitive," Sora noted, bringing his head up so he could look Riku in the eyes. Blue meeting teal in a confirmation of understanding, teal lowering first in submission. Riku felt Sora nibble on his ear, stealing a moan before the moan was countered with a chilling whisper in his ear. "I will be gentle."_

_ Riku nodded in response and gave Sora one last searching look before closing his eyes. "Sora," he whispered, his whole body protesting in disappointment as Sora stopped his trail of nips down his chest. "Why are you doing this Sora?" _

_"You don't like it?" Sora replied pouting. _

_"It's not that.." Riku stuttered, his mind jumbling up his thoughts as his body pleaded for more of Sora's attention. _

_"You better get your act straight." A sneering voice said. Riku jumped and opened his eyes which widened in shock when he saw the person who was now pinning him down. The once brown spikes and cheeky smile replaced by shorter blonde spikes and a evil leer. _

_"R-Roxas!?" Riku gasped. His gasp shortly followed by a little chuckle from Roxas. _

_"What's up Riku? Disappointed about something?" Roxas sneered. Riku felt the blonde thrust his hips against his own, creating well needed friction that sent a warm glow through Riku's body much to his minds protest. "Stop it Roxas!" Riku moaned, pulling at the handcuffs. _

_"Why? It seams as if your enjoying it," Roxas's tone had a deadly edge to it and his eyes were narrowed into mad slits. "Or do you only fully enjoy it when it's Sora?" Riku scowled up at the blonde willing himself to be free. "That's none of your business!" He growled, much to Roxas's amusement._

_"Oh but I do believe it is my business, considering I'm Sora's nobody. Oh and now coming to mention it I SAVED YOUR LIFE!" Roxas hissed his face inches from Riku's as both boys stared each other down through angry slits. _

_"You don't like me so why did you save me?" Riku murmured, still subtly pulling at the handcuffs. Roxas scoffed in his face, his eyebrows furrowing together as his eyes seamed to glaze over._

_"That's simple," He breathed. "I didn't want Sora to go through anymore pain… He didn't want you to die and I didn't want him to be unhappy…Even if it meant I couldn't talk to him on odd occasions. I lo-like him too much to have him go through that again." Roxas went quiet and an awkward silence quickly ensnared them both. Roxas pressed the awkwardness of the situation even more with a sadistic snort and persisted. "That's why I am here now." _

_"I still don't understand." Riku frowned. _

_"Well… now that i am part of you I can now limit how much you try to violate Sora." Roxas sneered, his eyes back into the slits as pure anger seeped out of his very aura. "So it seams your stuck with me to deal with now and trust me…" Roxas continued bending lower and shaking Riku hard. He was right next to Riku's ear. "I won't be so gentle…Riku…RIKU!" _

_Riku shouted out in pure rage. The handcuffs snapped menacingly and he pushed Roxas off with his free hands so the blond boy fell onto the space next to him._ He shot up so fast that the room started to spin which only built up his anger. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Riku roared, one of his fists shooting down to meet with Roxas. Riku yelled in protest and made his fist change course to land on the sofa, millimetres from Sora's face.

**Sora's POV**

Sora was terrified. His breathing caught in his throat as he looked at Riku who was shaking with anger. He shook the older boy and tried to wake him, but this seamed to make him angrier. _Riku? What's wrong?_ Sora desperately thought. _This isn't working!_ Sora started to hyperventilate as the prospect of speaking made him panic. _What if my voice doesn't reach Riku?_ Sora wiped the sweat that was forming on his forehead. _I've got to try! _

"Riku?" Sora whispered, his voice cracking from not being used in so long. There was no reaction. Sora licked his lips and tried again. "RIKU!" This made Riku shoot up into a sitting position. Sora sighed with relief.

Sora saw the older boy slowly turn to face him, his eyes closed in anger as his hands started to form fists. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Riku roared, his fist moving to strike Sora. _Riku I'm sorry!_ Sora screamed inwardly, closing his eyes and waiting for the blow. He felt a heavy THUD on the sofa next to his ear. Sora slowly opened his eyes, terror filling him and leaving a trial of dread as he looked up at Riku. The older boy was panting heavily; sweat dripping down the side of his face. A strange expression edging onto his face as his eyes met with Sora's frightened wide ones.

"S-Sora…" Riku stuttered, the sound made Sora flinch away from the older boy. He could feel Riku still shaking next to him; it made tears well up in his eyes to see his best friend so distressed. Sora was the one to break the silence.

"Riku, I'm sorry." Sora sniffed, tears were still trying to escape his eyes. "I-I'll leave you alone." Sora hiccupped, determined not to let the tears fall. It was such a hard task which was made even more difficult with the searing pain that seamed to radiate from his heart. He smiled up at Riku weakly before running off upstairs.

_What am I going to do? _Sora panicked to himself quietly as he hurriedly took up his school clothes and locked himself in Riku's bathroom. _I can't go home or my mum will literally kill me. _A stray tear left Sora's eye when he realised Riku didn't want him either. "Maybe King Mickey will let me work at his castle and let me stay with his servants. It's not like I can get into trouble with a few enchanted mops anyhow." Sora pondered out loud, relishing the feeling of speech. He looked in the mirror that rested on the door of the cupboard over the sink. There was no Roxas reflected back to give him comfort or advice. Sora slumped on the floor and sighed. His hands started to play with the bottom of Riku's shirt, gathering up the fabric in a bunch and rolling it up and down. "I wonder if there's anyway to get to King Mickey." Sora looked at his savaged, scarred wrists and felt a strange sensation of emptiness eating away at him. _Hopeless. _His thoughts prodded. _Empty, nothing… heartless. _Sora felt anger bubble in his stomach as these thoughts built up a negative energy around him. He growled with frustration and pounded the floor with both his fists. He jumped when the light flickered at every thud.

"Power of the darkness huh…" Sora mumbled, flexing his hands and looking up at the light bulb. Its brightness imprinted a circular blob in his eye sight. He blinked rapidly to make the blob disappear and pounded the floor again. The light flickered for several moments before turning off completely, darkness shrouding Sora as he lent his head back against the door. _It's not that bad I suppose. _Sora thought, ignoring the yellow eyes that littered the space around him. He knew they weren't real.

There was a timid knock on the door that scattered the yellow leering eyes. "Sora?" Came a tentative voice from the other side. "Are you ok? I'm sorry about earlier…I didn't mean it." Sora frowned and listened to Riku. _Of course he meant it. _Sora scowled. _Why shouldn't he? I'm in the way and it was my fault Kairi's not with us anymore… _Sora's hands clasped into fists and he shook with anger. "Riku, don't lie to me." He whispered, his voice cracking from the effort of trying to keep from shouting. He could feel the bubbling sensation he had earlier building up around him, an amour of wispy black smoke seeping out from the floor around him. The door handle was being pulled up and down noisily as Riku tried to gain entry. "I'm not lying! Sora why is the light off? What are you doing? Please let me in!" Riku's voice was getting steadily louder and more frantic and Sora could feel the door bulging as Riku hit his body on it. Each time Sora felt the door move he heard a loud BANG! He chuckled darkly and stood up to welcome Riku.

The door flung open with a final crunch as the lock flew across the bathroom, shattering into smaller pieces as it collided with the opposite wall. Metal was scraping across the tile floor as the bits fell to the ground. "SORA!" Riku panted as he skidded into the room. The darkness of the room penetrated by the light of the bedroom skipping in, Riku's silver hair shining from the brightness of it and casting a silhouetted shadow over Sora. "Sora what are you doing!" Riku yelled, his eyes widening as he saw the whispery black smoke that was surrounding Sora. The older boy was frozen to the spot by the sight in front of him. Sora was being enshrouded by the smoke, forming an egg shaped transparent capsule around him. "I'm doing what you asked Riku." Sora said, his head tilting to one side and a fake smile appearing on his face that didn't reach his eyes. Riku shook his head violently and lunged for Sora only to be cascaded back. "I didn't ask for this!" Riku cried from the floor. He clutched a hand to his head and felt blood trickle from the place he hit on the door frame. "I don't want you to leave!" Riku pleaded, crawling closer to Sora but hesitating when he got close to the smoke. _But I thought… _Sora blinked rapidly and shook his head. The constant bombardment of emptiness stopped for just a second as Sora looked down into the eyes of his friend. He saw tears dropping from them and he reached out a hand. His finger lightly grazing Riku's cheek: Riku pulled on Sora's hand as soon as it was out of the smoke. "Sora, here." Riku whispered, moving the hand to his chest. "You feel that?" Sora nodded and his hand felt the pressure of Riku's heart pumping rapidly. "It's beating that fast because of you."

"I don't understand…" Sora murmured trying to move his hand but Riku held him there fast.

"What isn't there to understand?!" Riku shouted, subtly trying to pull Sora out of the smoke. Sora noticed and pulled his hand away. "Sora… TALK TO ME!"

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm sorry for everything but I don't want to hurt you anymore!" Sora yelled back, his rage spilling out causing the light in the bedroom to flicker off.

"You could never hurt me!" Riku shouted, desperation to get his feelings across was causing him to get angry.

"I ALMOST KILLED YOU YESTERDAY!" Sora shrieked. He stomped his foot and let out a terrifying scream that stirred the darkness into action. The smoke around him fully enclosed him, covering him completely from view.

"Goodbye Riku!" Sora stated. His voice was void from emotion as he let the power of the darkness enter him and plunge him through a portal in the floor. His senses blurred as darkness pressed into him from all angles. The last thing he heard before the darkness deafened him was Riku yelling and pounding on something.

... "SORA! COME BACK! I LOVE YOU!"…

_Riku… _Sora's heart dropped as he spiralled down a dark tunnel of emptiness and… regret.

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wow this story is turning out to be very dark :( ... at least Riku told Sora his feelings? PLEASE DONT KILL ME *runs and hides*


	8. Paopu

–**Sora let the darkness get to him. This has no led up to him leaving Riku and being transported through the darkness…but…where?- ooooo whats going to happen? **

**This is a REALLY short chapter.. im really sorry I cant update as often as I would like because of school work and what not but I promise I will get more up before the end of the week. **

**Sora's POV**

_Falling in darkness huh? This is familiar. _Sora spread his arms out to see if there was anything to grab onto. _That was a pretty slim chance anyway. _Sora sighed and tried to turn his body around so he was falling face down but could only get so far as being slightly tilted from his side. _I wonder if Kairi was like this. _He closed his eyes, patiently waiting for this dull journey to be over. _This was a bad idea. _Sora shivered inwardly before wrapping his arms around himself for comfort. Sora cursed out loud at his own foolishness. _I can't believe I miss him already. Riku, I think… I ..I like you! _Sora smiled slowly as a warm glow spread throughout his body at the thought.

"Ahh!" Sora winced in pain. He could feel a flood of emotions running through his very core. A Spark of hope emerged from Sora's heart from the few loving words he remembered Riku speaking.A voice seamed to echo around Sora. It was a light and laughing female voice.

"_A shadow born of light always had a fighting side, light breaking beneath the charcoal covered heart."_

Sora gasped. _Is that Kairi?_ His thoughts shouted as he whizzed his head around to find the source of the voice. All he could hear was a faint giggling before silence enclosed him again. "HELLO?" Sora shouted desperately. There was no answer and once again he felt a dull sense of regret eating away at his insides. "A shadow born of light?" Sora sighed to himself. "I will ask Riku he will understand…oh… right." A small tear escaped Sora's eye before more followed suit. The brunette boy's tears lulled him into a dream full of memories of Kairi, Riku and everyone else he knew he had lost.

-

"_Thora you're thuch a girl!" Riku laughed, playfully hitting Sora on his arm. The younger boy whimpered at the gesture before sticking his tongue out at the silver haired boy. _

"_No I'm not!" Sora yelled indignantly before plonking himself down next to the paopu tree. "You jussh won causssh your older! Ish not my fault im nearly 7 and your 8!" The young brunette stuck his tongue out again before huffing to himself in defeat. The 8 year old boy poked Sora on the cheek to show his superiority before stating._

"_You are thuch a girl cauth you cant climb the tree!" _

"_You do it then if your sho shmart!" Sora pouted, wiping stray tears from his eyes. Riku grinned at the brunette showing his toothy smile that was made goofy by the missing front tooth. _

"_Ima get a paopu and then I will give it to you!" Riku gloated, puffing his chest out like a superhero before smearing the tears from Sora's face. Sora beamed up at Riku with an even more toothless grin. A mix of awe and hope in his eyes. "Weaaly?!" He whispered in amazement, causing the older boy to look cocky and give him thumbs up. _

_ Much to Sora's shock Riku was true to his word. With one armature leap the older boy managed to get onto the bent bark of the tree and with careful skill and grace slid up to the leafy part. "Wotchit!" Sora warned as he hugged the trunk of the tree for support. Riku laughed and reached out for a piece of the scrumptious looking fruit. _

"_Wath what?" He giggled cockily before plucking the fruit from the branch. "Theee!" Riku waved the fruit above his head in triumph before gracefully climbing back down to land next to Sora. _

_ "Wow!" Sora gasped. He stared wide eyed at his best friend for a moment before getting impatient. "Can I hash it now!" He demanded as he went to grab the fruit. Riku swiftly moved his hand out of reach and shook his head. _

_ "No! Kairi thaid we hath to do it pro-pooly!" Riku said smugly to the pouting boy. _

"_Wot?" Sora frowned, his pout getting even bigger if possible. He yelped when the older boy swooped down on him and kissed him on the cheek. "Wot wash that for!" Sora complained, rubbing the patch of skin where Riku kissed. Riku just blushed and handed the fruit over to Sora. _

"_I like you Thora.." Riku smiled shyly, wringing his hands together and shifting his weight from each foot. _

"_Oh ..I like you too Reeku." Sora beamed before biting into the fruit. "Ohhh yumsh! Here Reeku try it!" Sora pushed the fruit into Riku's mouth without a chance to let him answer, forcing half the thing into his unsuspecting mouth. "Mph!" Riku managed to get out before he was forced to chew and swallow most of the fruit._

"_Oh!" Riku gasped. His eyes were wide with shock. "Thath yummy!" _

Sora opened his eyes to find that he was staring up at the night sky. The noise of the ocean ringing in his ear as the waves lapped against the shore. _Why am I here? _He thought to himself as he looked around at the scenery.

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i told you it was a short chapter ... Im sorry guys ... i will try to update for thursday. . . Please enjoy and review, i thrive on reviews )


	9. Old friends

**First i would like to thank you for your patience. I dont have much time recently to upload more chapters because of coursework building up. Secondly i would like to appologise for the long wait for this update. I know i said i would try to update before the end of the week and oh look .. a month has past and im really really really sorry about that. Gosh look at me being all formal D: time to dwindle into barbarian speak. New chappy, read! Enjoy! **

**Me no own KH! Fools! If did be rich roll in MUNNY! ... review... or. i... hit ...light box ....with ...club.. No updates more EVER! **

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**Riku's POV**

Riku stared at the floor, refusing to believe what just happened. _He's not left. _Riku tried to convince himself. _He's just gone for a while to calm down… _Riku shook himself and tried to erase the angry look Sora had on his face from his memory. _I need some air…_ Riku sighed and shakily pulled himself up using the sink for support.

The sky was still black and littered with stars when Riku got outside. He looked around for any sign of life on the surrounding street but tumbleweed could have rolled past at how empty and quiet the place was. It made Riku feel lonelier then he felt before and he found it harder to convince himself that Sora was coming back. "ARGH!" Riku growled as he kicked a stone into oblivion against a tree. He felt so guilty and mad. _If only I didn't say that stuff to Sora! _He bit his lip and grunted at the throbbing pain it brought that was closely followed by a small trickle of blood. _Hope you're happy Roxas! _Riku continued walking as he bitterly cursed Roxas, faintly surprising himself at how big a repertoire of insults he had. He greatly hoped that Roxas was listening to every name he called him. He smiled bitterly and slowed on his cursing as he reached the end of the gravel. His foot hit the wooden panelling that led onto the beach and his eyes grazed over the scenery.

There was hardly any light but Riku knew the island off by heart. What the stars didn't give enough light to see, he could patch up with his memories. The sea was lapping against the shore in its lazy manner. Every new ripple sending waves across the reflected stars, making them flicker to their own rhythm. Sky seamed continuous as the normally distinct line between the sky and ocean was invisible in the dim lighting. From Riku's point of view it looked like sky met land in an envelope of welcome as each wave kissed at the sand. _I wish Sora was here to see this…_

"_Riku!"_

"WHAT THE F-!" Riku slipped on the wooden panels in shock and landed flat on his back with a loud "OFFT!" Momentarily disorientated Riku managed to remember to breathe as when he heard the voice again.

"_Oh you poor thing are you ok? Sorry if scared you!"  
_Riku kept breathing and whipped his head around frantically for the source of the voice. The beach was completely empty. _Ok so I'm hearing voices… spiffing. _He grudgingly admitted to himself as he pushed himself back up. The voice gave a light girly chuckle before continuing.

"_Well of course your hearing voices silly. Its me, Aeris!"_

"Aeris?"

"_Yes, I'm one of Sora's friends. Lots of things happened since the worlds were locked but lets just say… I get called mother often now. I help souls through the lifestream but you wouldn't know about that on this world."_

"Okaaaay…" Riku's voice was verging on sarcasm as he failed to comprehend what was going on. "So why are you talking to me?"  
_"You and Sora haven't finished the mission Mickey told you about. I know the death of Kairi was hard but you have to continue! If you don't then the worlds as we know it are doomed." _Aeris voice had become very agitated and Riku could tell that she wasn't lying. The mere mention of Sora's name however opened up fresh wounds within Riku. His heart gave a painful throb when he remembered the events from earlier. His fists started to shake from anger and he struggled to control the rage that awakened within him. "So… Aeris. Tell me, why the fuck is it always me and Sora that have to save the day?" There was silence for a few moments. The pressing silence made Riku's rage build up even more.

"_Riku… It's very unfortunate but fate is what chose you and Sora. You already know this."_

"So what? I'm meant to grow a rocket out of my arse so I can get to all these other worlds. I don't even know where the fuck Sora is! Let alone help him! For all I know he's somewhere in the darkness…alone…" Riku's yells subsided as his heart plummeted into his gut. "because of me…" He shrank into silence and all the gusto he had before deflated to show the insecure boy underneath. Aeris made a sympathetic noise and gave Riku a moment.

_"You can save him. Go to the secret place and you will know what to do… Oh… and someone would like to say something before I go…" _Riku blinked rapidly and wondered who could possibly want to talk to him, especially in these circumstances.

_"Hey lazy bum!"_

"KAIRI?!" Riku yelped in shock. His voice several octaves higher than usual.

"_Riku… Remember this…A __shadow born of light always had a fighting side, light breaking beneath the charcoal covered heart."_

"I don't understand…"

"_Riku… that's you! You're the one who has to fight this battle!"_

"But Sora is the one the Keyblade chose…"There was silence following that made Riku feel on edge. "Hello?... Aeris? Kairi?" Nothing. Just pressing silence, even the sound of the waves had stopped.

Riku felt the loneliness creep in as he stared around him in search of life again. Nothing. The only movement was the slowly rising sun against the ocean. Its beauty magnified as the water reflected the rays and bounded them back into the sky. A lingering mixture of reds and oranges painting the sky as the inevitable dawn approached, breaking through the darkness and putting the stars to shame. As Riku looked on he remembered the multiple times that he, Sora and Kairi watched this very scene together. "Sora, I will find you." Riku finally stated to himself. Determination in every syllable as he stole himself away in the direction of The secret place.

**Sora's POV**

Sora looked around when he heard the familiar sound of the waves. His confusion at where he was slowly became tenfold as he realised his first assumption was wrong. He was not in Destiny Island anymore. The beach was far to grassy, the trees far too close knit together and the sky even held a different colour almost one of distaste compared to the one he was used to. There was a damp earthy smell around him, almost familiar yet forgotten all the same. He watched as the sea crashed and thrashed about more vigorously than he was used to and heard the wind blowing through the trees. A hallow whistling sound occurring when it grazed through the cracks in the bark.

"Where am i?" Sora questioned, his face screwed up in confusion as he started to step further into the trees. The tropical trees were so close to each other that he had to manoeuvre himself very carefully to avoid getting ensnared on the wild, unkempt branches. The further he got the closer the trees seamed to get until Sora found himself climbing up the trunks to step from thick branches.

"HELLO?" Sora yelled. In the distance a faint echo revered back to him slowly getting fainter and fainter as the jungle absorbed the sound. Sora sighed and continued on his way, testing each new branch before shifting his weight as they had started to become thinner as the trees opened out more. After what seamed like an hour Sora lowered himself from a particularly thin branch into a clearing. It was easier to walk here and Sora welcomed a chance to de-tangle himself from the leaves and twigs that had gathered in his hair. "Damn hair!" Sora cursed as a particularly stuck twig refused to be removed from the entanglement of doom that was his hair. His efforts to remove the twig were paused when he heard a menacing snapping noise behind him.

Whipping around Sora came face to face with a set of glinting yellow eyes. Time stopped and Sora tried to stare down the leopard, his breathing hitching from fear as he saw his own reflection in the cold eyes staring back at him. _I remember you. _Sora realised where he was and prepared himself for sabor's strike! He summoned his keyblade and bared his teeth. "You wanna play kitty?" He sneered, feeling the rush of battle building up once again. Sabor growled and dug his claws into the dirt, intimidating Sora with the deep lines the sharp claws made in the mud.

Sabor growled and pounced! Slashing at Sora who rolled out of the way just in time. He was caught off guard and felt how rusty he had become with his own weapon. "TCH!" Sora tutted and made his rebuttal. He swung the keyblade at Sabor and started to strike at every angle, the combination he then completed with a blast of fire. Each time sabor managed to narrowly dodge the attacks until the ring of fire caught him full in the face. Sabor gave a shrieking roar that pieced through Sora like a spear forcing him to cover his ears with his hands. Momentarily open for attack Sabor took the chance and pounced pinning Sora to the ground. "AHH!" Sora yelled as Sabors claws dug into his chest. His keyblade had been knocked out of his hand and fizzled out of existence. Sabor looked down at Sora with his hungry eyes, fury and mad glee reflected in them at the meal he had just obtained. Sora struggled underneath sabor and held back the growling face by pulling on Sabor's ears. This earned an angry yelp of pain from the leopard and a whimper of fear from Sora, who's chest felt like it was being ripped into ribbons from the claws. His arms buckled under the strain of keeping Sabor's teeth away and he was starting to lose the little hope he gained during the fight.

"HELP!" Sora shouted, his throat seamed to tear at how loud he shouted. His mouth dried up in fear as the inevitable seamed to catch him up. _Im done for! _His thoughts strayed to Riku as his lust for life gave him the welding fear inside him jolts of adrenaline. _Riku would never give up! _Sora's thoughts yelled at him and gave him the extra strength that built up inside. His arms stopped buckling under the strain and he felt renewed. "Not this time kitty!" He roared as he thrust his whole body up with all the strength he had knocking sabor off him and sending him skidding across the dirt. Re-summoning up his Keyblade he sent wave after wave of magic attacks upon the beast, sending it back to cower in the trees making angry protesting growls. "That's what I thought!" Sora jeered before turning to run in the opposite direction.

"Offft!" He grunted when he found himself bumped onto the ground by what felt like a barge. Sora looked up and found a set of rippling muscles with a head attached. A joyous grin spread across his face and he jumped up to hug the headed muscles. "TARZAN!" He exclaimed in excitement, muscles in the shape of arms awkwardly patted Sora on the back before peeling him off. Big brown eyes looked down into blue ones, both sets sparkling in joy and recognition.

"Sora friend!" Tarzan grunted. "Trouble! Need help!"

Sora felt seriousness get kicked back into his system as he looked back at his muscled friend. "What is it?" He asked worriedly. Fear rekindling in his stomach at the unexpected turn of events.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chappy my pretties :) I shall await for more reviews before the next chappy gets put up as reviews are like human catnip for me. I LOVE em! So keep them coming and i shall keep more chappies coming.

**And all you who are reading who dont review it takes what .. .2 minutes to do so? Dont be a grumpy bumface and share the loooove .. or hate :) eithers good**


	10. Burly men carrying shorter men

**Sora's POV**

Sora leapt from branch to branch, trying desperately to keep up with Tarzan, who it couldn't be clearer had done this all too often.

"So what's this trouble you were talking about?" Sora gasped as he stopped and leaned against a particularly thick tree-trunk.

"Heartless" Tarzan said, jumping down and pulling Sora onto his shoulders, "Sora must help, must go now!", and with that he launched himself further into the trees and began to rocket through the jungle, running, leaping, swinging from branches and vines, and even sliding on mossy branches and angles of vine, all while carrying Sora on his back.

They reached a clearing and Sora saw that it was filled with Heartless, just Shadows, nothing to worry about. He summoned his key blade, ready to strike. He stood on Tarzan's thick, broad shoulders and threw himself into the clearing, swinging the keyblade into the nearest shadow and making quick work of all the rest. He finally landed in the exact centre of the clearing, the key blade vanishing upon landing.

"There you go!" Sora smirked, "That wasn't so bad"

Tarzan looked grim, "Wrong heartless" he said, "Big heartless have Jane…"

Sora gasped, "Where have they taken her?" he demanded, to which Tarzan simply pointed out into the trees. "That way…" he muttered, "But they too strong. I couldn't fight…"

_Hmm, too strong for Tarzan… _Sora thought to himself, _They must be pretty tough Heartless. _He knew Tarzan wouldn't be joining him, and that the mighty ape-man was ashamed of his failure, so he ran into the trees, jumping onto a branch a few inches from the ground and vanished into the trees without looking back.

**Riku's POV**

Riku crawled through the tunnel to the secret place, _My God! I can't believe we were small enough to fit through here!_ he thought as he struggled towards the light at the end of the tunnel… A light which surely couldn't be there, the secret place was, after all secret, so surely empty too?

He finally reached the secret place and found that the source of the light was the mysterious door that had at last opened on that fateful day, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Suddenly he froze, he felt an odd sort of pain as his shadow suddenly retracted into his body. It then projected outwards until a man stood before him.

Taller, only slightly, a more malicious look in the eyes and face, unmistakable, but still it was definitely him, before Riku stood another Riku, a darker, far more dangerous Riku… "The door…" spoke the new him, in a dark, ominous voice which filled the room and made it unclear where exactly it was coming from "…will take you to your hearts purest desire…. However. Your heart is divided"

"What do you mean?" asked the first Riku, worried by this new presence.

"I represent the darkness within you" the other Riku explained, "and I feel that I can defeat, or take charge of, any threat without Sora's help. So I'll be going on to not save the worlds, but conquer them myself" he smiled an evil smile and the first Riku drew out his weapon.

"Never!" he shouted, "The good in my heart will persevere! And what I truly want is to be reunited with Sora, so we can stop this threat… Together!"

"Have it your way" spoke the second Riku, the choice retracting so it now came only from him… "In that case.." he drew and identical weapon, "We shall see whether the light in your heart is strong enough, or whether the darkness will devour it!"

And with that, the two Riku's launched at each other and struck with identical attacks. _How can I possibly win… or lose? _Riku thought, _We are the same, I need to work out what makes us different so I can defeat him!_

**Sora's POV**

Sora perched himself upon the top of the tallest tree in reach and gazed out in the direction the muscular ape-man had pointed. He waited, feeling that soon he would recieve a sign leading him to his target...

His expectations were correct, as a moment or two later, he heard a deep, throaty roar and saw a cloud of dust rise in yet another clearing. He leapt in that direction, getting ever lower throught the foliage and at last seeing his target, a large, mosteerous creature at which he threw his keyblade, landing a solid strike into the enemies ribcage. He then re-summoned the keyblade, and with all his might jumped high in the air and bought the mighty blade down upon the beasts head. The creature scattered into darkness and Sora wiped away the single drop of sweat on his brow.

He saw Jane in the clearing's centre, and ran to her. "Come on!" he exclaimed, "Let's get you back home"

"No!" she shouted, "Look out behind you!"

He turned just as another, even larger monster smashed into him with the side of a large horn protruding from it's snout, throwing him into a nearby tree trunk.

"Ow!" he shouted, then looked at Jane, "Get out of here!" he screamed, try and get back to Tarzan, I'll catch up when I've finished this"

As soon as she vanished, four more of these Heartless emerged from the shadows...

"Okay" Sora muttered to himself, "This could take a while..."

**Riku's POV**

The two Riku's were evenly matched, but the firsts strength seemed to be waning faster then the newer, more vicious Riku.

_How can I beat ME! We're the same_ he thought, then it hit him... _He's the same as the Darkness within me..._

And with that Riku realised that the only reason he couldn't win was because he was letting his anger and frustration take over, and that he was evenly matched because he was fighting with the same agression as his opponent.

He then ducked back, and began to defend himself rather than launch his own assault... _I sure hope this works!_

As the more evil Riku launched a pwerful strike, the first Riku ducked below him, he had realised that his best weapon was his opponents own agression. He made use of the opening that in a better frame of mind he would never have left open to attack, and swung his weapon swiftly upwards into his opponenets stomach.

The second Riku fell the the floor on his knees, and faded into darkness when struck to the head in this moment of weakness. He slowly rerouped and returned to his place, spread across the floor beneath the real Riku's feet.

Riku stepped through the door, eyes closed. He fell through the light, muttering a single word as he went...

"... Sora"

**Sora's POV**

Sora continued to defend himself against the five enormous Heartless, landing an attack of his own from time to time.

_Oh crap! _he thought, _How am I supposed to beat all five!_

Suddenly a flash of light broke into the clearing. The Heartless were struck by massive lightning strikes that destroyed them on contact. Relieved, Sora looked out into the trees to see his savour.

"Riku!" he exclaimed, launching at his friend and the two embraced eachother, each beginning to cry a little at the previous events.

After a few moments Sora pushed himself away uncomfortably, blushing slightly at his own overexcitement.

"... Err, soooo..." he said, "We'd better get back to the camp and le Tarzan know things are okay now..." He pointed the way

Riku smirked, "The usual?" he asked.

Sora grinned broadly, "Let's do it!", he answered with a wink.

And with that they ran off into the trees, each glad to be reuniited, and each determined to defeat the other...


End file.
